For 215 years, this country has been an independent and sovereign republic that played a decisive role in the liberation of much of the Americas. Under Bolívar's leadership, armies of the poor and the provisional peoples who followed him across highlands and plains forged a nation beyond the borders of Venezuela. Greater Colombia.
By 1815, it was clear to the Liberator that the only way to achieve sovereignty and maintain independence in the historical context was by forming a power bloc that united the liberated territories, not only for military victory but also to preserve independence over time. He finalized treaties with Chile, Peru, Central America, and Mexico (1822-1825), the purpose of which was to arrive at the Congress of Panama with a consensus on the need for unity that would ensure our existence and influence in the global balance of power.
Bolívar acted with a stark analysis. In a letter to Santander dated December 23, 1822, he wrote: “We are inferior to our brothers to the south, to the Mexicans, to the Americans, to the English, and finally, to all the Europeans who are our neighbors in their Antilles. We are at the center of the universe and in contact with all nations. Who can say the same? We have two and a half million inhabitants scattered across a vast desert. Some are savage, others enslaved; most are enemies of one another, and all are corrupted by superstition and despotism. A fine contrast indeed, when compared to all the nations of the earth!”
This is our situation: this is Colombia, and then they want to divide it.”
However, he states: “I believe that the primary quality of things is existence, and that all others are secondary. Let us exist, then, even with our defects and difficulties, because in the end it is always better to be than not to be.”
This country could have been, despite the oligarchy's determination to maintain colonial oppression and destroy Bolivarian unity, the only antidote to imperial voracity. It could have been, despite the nauseating plunder of politicians, military officers, oligarchs, and the bourgeoisie, whose organization has been a gang and whose virtue is cunning. We have survived mafia-like, rent-seeking elites with mousy eyes who didn't even bother to attempt to create a respectable state with citizens capable of living well.
